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Browsing Category New England

An American (Football Fan) In Paris

January 17, 2012 · by Nikki

In one of my earlier posts, A New England Sports Fan Abroad, I wrote about what it was like to miss championship games because of my international antics. But after several Sundays spent at The Great Canadian–a Canadian bar (surprise!) that airs NFL games here in Paris–I can, thankfully, write about what it’s like to watch a game abroad.

One of the first things I thought about when I decided to accept the offer to work for my current company and make the move to Paris was how I would be able to watch my beloved New England Patriots every Sunday. When I lived in the States, I made a point to go to at least one home game every season (last year I upped it to two, in light of my imminent departure), and if I wasn’t at Gillette I was surely glued to a TV somewhere. I’ve definitely had to miss my fair share of games, though, and that wasn’t an occurrence I wished to become a regularity.

The 2011 season, however, was a whole different ball game–pun intended. Not only have I been traveling more (admittedly both for business and for pleasure), but I am of course living in a country where American football isn’t exactly the most popular sport around. If you ask the locals if they’re into football you’ll likely hear a resounding yes, but they’re certainly not talking about tossing the ol’ pigskin. And as if there weren’t enough obstacles to watching a sport in a country that predominantly couldn’t care less about it, I also have to deal with the six to nine hour time difference for watching games taking place in the US–arguably the most difficult element to work around.

Fortunately for me, I was referred to TGC by a fellow American expat and blogger, Michael (you can check out his blog here), and his recommendation couldn’t have been better. Not only have I been able to watch several games during the regular season, but this past weekend I was able to watch the game that turned out to be our first playoff victory since January 20, 2008. This is particularly amazing considering that the game began at a staggering 2am Paris time Saturday night/Sunday morning. Thankfully, TGC came through and stayed open for the entire game, not-so-gently kicking us out at 5:30am. I was able to catch this crucial match-up, share drinks with friends, and make it home on the metro just before the sun came up.

Just for fun, here are some pictures of myself and some friends during the course of the season at our favorite American football hangout:

: The gang, dedicated and pulling an almost-all-nighter for our team!

: Me on Christmas Eve cheering for the Patriots to pull ahead of the Dophins!

: First Patriots game at TGC!

: With Esteve/Paul/Alfonso and the Frog Prince!

: With beautiful Melissa on my very first trip to TGC to check it out 🙂

It’s been a great season so far, but I’m looking forward to what comes next as the Patriots compete against Baltimore for the AFC Championship title! And thank you, TGC, for giving me a little piece of home every Sunday. Now for next week: Let’s kick some Baltimore butt, boys!

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Three Holidays, Three Countries

January 12, 2012 · by Nikki

For me, the “holiday season” has always consisted of three important holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve/Day. 2011 marked an interesting year for me, in which I spent these very special holidays in very different locations.

Of course there’s no where in the world to celebrate American Thanksgiving than in the United States, so that’s where I went! This trip was in conjunction with the surprise 50th birthday party we threw for my dad (which you can read about here), and my 10 year high school reunion. Take a look at our Thanksgiving table as we prepared for the big feast:

Tigger (who occasionally travels with me) is eyeing the turkey!

For Christmas, Santa brought family to me and delivered my Father on Christmas Eve! We spent 4 days walking all around Paris (and I mean ALL around), and I acted as a poor excuse for a tour guide to my guest, who was also a first-time visitor to The City of Lights.

A chilly, grey day in front of the Tour Eiffel

And lastly, to ring in the New Year, my wonderful Frog Prince invited me to join him and his friends in beautiful Cadaqués, Spain — about an hour north of Barcelona. The sites were beautiful, the running was difficult (so much wind!), and the company was great. How could I ask for more?

Not a postcard - a snapshot by the sea!

Hoping everyone had a great holiday season and is having an equally excellent start to the new year… as for me, I’ve got big plans for 2012. Watch out, world! 😉

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The Art of Surprise

December 2, 2011 · by Nikki

2011 has been a year of many surprises.

Early in the year, my friends and former boyfriend plotted a surprise for my birthday as they all showed up to meet us in NYC. Since arriving in Paris I have been present for three surprise birthday gatherings.

With all the surprise birthday bashes happening this year, it was no trouble finding the inspiration to throw one for my Dad, who turned 50.

After teasing my Dad since his 49th birthday about his looming march to the top of the “hill,” I figured I had to follow-through with my threats to celebrate and thoroughly embarrass him. And what better theme for this momentous occasion than Hawaii 5-0? If your answer is “none,” you would be correct.

For his present I decided the best thing I could possibly get him would be a little face time. But how do you wrap that? I figured the best method of delivery was to buy some plane tickets, conveniently fail to mention that I would be coming home, and offer up this little gift at his party–in person. Needless to say, it made for a pretty awesome reaction. Here are some photos of the surprise in action:

: The moment of the big surprise!

: Happy as clams 🙂

: Decked out in our Hawaii 5-0 attire

Any other surprises planned for 2011? You’ll just have to wait and see… 😉

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Ten Things I Miss

October 28, 2011 · by Nikki

In an attempt to mix-up the Things I Learned lists that I bring you so often, I present you with this glorious attempt to recount the elements of my American lifestyle that I occasionally pine for.

But please don’t misinterpret this list as a secondary form of saying “I don’t like French food,” or some attempt to cling to American comforts when I should be enjoying everything that French life has to offer. Simply put, this is a list of things that I occasionally think about having or doing, and then am promptly slapped in the face by the reality that I cannot due to the lack of availability here in Paris. Here they are:

Peanut butter. YES there is peanut butter here in France (though scarcely). I have some in my kitchen at this very moment. Skippy, actually. But in the US you can find virtually any food item with peanut butter. This actually creates several sub-list items:

Peanut butter M&Ms
Peanut butter Dove squares
Reese’s peanut butter cups (what?!)
Okay, peanut butter and chocolate ANYTHING…

Smartfood Popcorn. Go ahead and judge me, but it’s the guilty pleasure that has been bringing me comfort since high school. And I miss it.
Refried beans. Ever had a breakfast burrito? No? Well let me tell you… it’s a kick-ass day-starting perfectly-portioned burrito filled with egg, salsa, a cream cheese/sour cream concoction, shredded cheese and yes–lots of refried beany-goodness. Also, I enjoy a good seven-layer dip any day of the week. Someone ship me some cans, STAT.
Annie’s Organic Mac and Cheese. You know what food grosses a lot of French people out? American-style mac and cheese. Especially the Kraft or Velveeta varieties. But I challenge ANYONE to be grossed out by Annie’s. That’s some good stuff, right there.
Clam chowder. I wouldn’t be a New England girl if I didn’t miss this Northeastern specialty. But please: don’t bother trying to ship me any. I prefer it fresh, and served in one of the six New England states (make that five – no thanks, Connecticut.)
No-bake cookies. Recently I’ve been cursing my mother (in my own mind) for making these delicious cookies when I was a child, and then sharing her recipe with me a few years back. These are now far and away my favorite cookies, and I have yet to find all the necessary ingredients here in Paris.
Netflix. Woohoo! A non-food item! (Maybe I’m not such a little piggie afterall.) Okay to be honest: in the US I didn’t have my own personal Netflix account, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy streaming TV shows and the occasional movie (thanks Adam!). But I didn’t realize how much I would miss having access to series I was getting into or movies that I miss but don’t own until coming to Europe. Come on, Netflix–come to France!
Tennis. People in France LOVE tennis. Half of the people I meet play themselves, and the other half know someone who does. The sport is wildly popular here, especially among Parisians. But I cannot for the life of me nail down a tennis partner, find a new racket, or locate what I’m told are numerous tennis courts around the city. Someone help me before I get lazy!
Friends and family. Duh.
All things Autumn. Apples and pumpkins and costumes, oh my! And brightly colored leaves, that crisp air, the smell of your neighbors lighting their first fire of the season, the opportunity to bring out your cute fall boots, FOOTBALL… Oh I could go on for days.

Friends living abroad… what are the things you miss most?!

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Home is Where the Food is

August 15, 2011 · by Nikki

While living in France I have definitely enjoyed trying new foods and exploring the Parisian culture through its cuisine. And although I certainly am not at a point where I think any one region’s food is better than another’s on the whole, there is definitely an element of comfort surrounding some of the favorite foods I grew up with.

As such, during my stay in the US, I made sure to try and get my hands on the foods I’ve been missing most. Being a New England native, there’s definitely a theme to the foods I’ve been seeking. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of the must-eat foods for those visiting the Northeast:

Portsmouth:

Fried Haddock sandwich (with cheese) from River House on Bow Street
Seafood chowder, also from River House
Japanese Wrap (accompanied by a soy shake) from The Juicery on Hanover Street
Anything on the menu at Shio on Lafayette street (near Big Lots), especially the miso soup 😉
Tuna Melt (substitute cheddar for Swiss and hold the tomato) from The Works Bakery Cafe on Congress Street

Boston:

Malai Kofta (preceded by the vegetarian platter as an appetizer) from Kashmir Indian Restaurant on Newbury Street
Tuna Burger from Cafeteria Boston, also on Newbury Street
Crab Cakes from Ned Devines in Faneuil Hall (surprising, but so good!)
A large, original frozen yogurt with strawberries and chocolate chips (though toppings may vary) from Pinkberry, again on Newbury Street
Clam Chowder from Union Oyster House on Union Street (but be warned: you will have the slowest service at this place, regardless of whether it’s dead or packed!)
Lobster Quesadillas from Game On! Boston (another surprise, but these quesadillas could hold their own at any tex-mex establishment!)

Hopefully in a few months I’ll be able to post a similar entry about my favorite French foods. In the meantime, perhaps this can serve as a fish-filled, vegetarian-friendly guide to food some of the best food in Portsmouth and Boston.

Ciao! (literally)

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A New England Sports Fan Abroad

June 16, 2011 · by Nikki

I have a history of being away from home when my favorite sports teams make big wins.

On February 1, 2004, the New England Patriots were playing Superbowl XXXVIII to decide the champions of the 2003 regular season. The matchup was against the Carolina Panthers and it all went down at Reliant Stadium in Houston. It was an epic game with some really great football. So great, in fact, that Monday Morning Quarterback author Peter King dubbed it “The Greatest Superbowl of All Time.” Of course I wouldn’t miss it for the world, being that I live and breathe the New England Patriots. So I watched… on DVD in May of that same year. Because on THAT day, February 1, 2004, I was sitting on a plane that was delivering me and 24 other students to our study abroad destination: Cape Town, South Africa.

Knowing I’d be away for the biggest game of the year, I did all I could to support my team. Given my circumstances, this meant wearing a Patriots Jersey on the entire 18 hour plane ride, and a cowboy hat (the hat was more to let people know that I am insane – it worked).

I had a layover in the middle of the long flight, and the layover happened at right around the time the Superbowl should have been over. Luckily for me, there were two other Patriots fans on the plane (which was extremely exciting given that the flight left from New York), so we eagerly asked the pilot to radio back to the States for an update. The wait for news was brutal. I remember how clearly the anxiety weighed on me, and I nearly pounced on any flight staff that walked by servicing the plan we were waiting on for hint of an update.

And then it came. One flight attendant gloriously approached me and the other student that was making the same wish I was and delivered the verdict: The Patriots had defeated the Carolina Panthers 32 to 29.

I still remember that feeling. It was as good as if I had been watching the entire game.

So this morning, at approximately 4:47am Paris time, I woke up to an alert from my phone reading: Final Score – Boston 4, Vancouver 0. And that little message had nearly the same effect as the flight attendant had on me back in 2004. What a great feeling to have been pulling for the winning team!

Though I saw almost none of the final series (I was in Paris for all of the Stanley Cup games), I still felt just as connected to Boston and to my teams as ever. Though football always has been and always will be my favorite, I’m a New England sports fan through and through, and no distance will ever tear us apart!

Ciao!

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A Blast from the Past

March 11, 2011 · by Nikki

I’m a celebrity!

No I’m not. Not even close. BUT – A professor at my alma mater asked me a few weeks back if I’d be willing to come to Endicott and speak with undergrads about market research, my experiences in the industry, and generally share advice with the soon-to-be grads. So of course I said yes, and it was so much fun!

I was expecting the discussion to be rather lackluster, especially when I learned that today is the Friday before “spring break,” and clearly everyone would be thoroughly checked out. But, surprisingly, the kids paid attention, were interested in what I had to say, and asked a lot of questions. Nothing like people being in awe of your, and I quote, fabulous life to make you feel a little socialite-esque. 🙂

After the class, where I shared my experiences with qual and quant market research, some of the funnier moments I’ve had so far, the places I’ve gotten to travel to, and offered up some resume and career-starting advice, I had a great talk with the professor who asked me to possibly come and speak to some additional classes of hers. Peachy!

And did I mention that Endicott College is looking great these days? Being on campus re-instilled a pride in me that I haven’t felt about EC in a while. I’m happy to be involved as an alum, and hope my little 50 minutes of fame today helped some of these students in learning about a potential career path.

That’s it for now!

Ciao

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Home, sweet home…

September 22, 2010 · by Nikki

So, after nearly 13 hours on a plane (two of which were spent sitting on the tarmac waiting for clearance to depart), I arrived back in the States safe and sound. And this was waiting for me:

So pretty!

This week will be a busy one for me… two days of work then back bouncing around as a bridesmaid in Mattie’s wedding. Hurray!

So thanks for reading along with my adventures in Athens. More to come, as I post some details from Mattie’s wedding and then I’m off traveling again starting October 4.

Ciao!

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